This invention relates to refuse collection vehicles and elevating and dumping apparatus attached thereto and more particularly to side loading refuse collection vehicles designed to manipulate containers of standard size without direct manual intervention and handling by the vehicle operator.
The vast majority of residential refuse collection within the United States is accomplished using methods which require substantial manual handling. A large labor force is still utilized to manually dump refuse containers, typically 20 or 30 gallon garbage cans for household use, into a bin which is attached to a refuse collection vehicle.
The primary impediments to the utilization of labor saving devices in this field have been the absence of a refuse collection vehicle which is adapted to operate along narrow alleyways and roadways but still have sufficient operating flexibility to permit the mechanized engagement of standardized containers at a variety of spaced distances from the side of the refuse collection vehicle. In addition, the previous refuse collection vehicles have not been adapted to automatically replace refuse collection containers at the precise location from which they were picked up automatically, thereby requiring additional operator manipulation in order to assure that the containers are replaced out of the normal traffic flow through the roadway.